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Get the latest starting goalies, hockey news, fantasy analysis, betting tips and more with DailyFaceoff.com!Wed, 01 Jul 2015 18:55:47 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/http://feeds.feedburner.com/~fc/dailyfaceoff?bg=006699&amp;fg=FFFFFF&amp;anim=1Subscribe with My Yahoo!Subscribe with NewsGatorSubscribe with My AOLSubscribe with BloglinesSubscribe with NetvibesSubscribe with GoogleSubscribe with PageflakesSubscribe with PlusmoSubscribe with The Free DictionarySubscribe with Bitty BrowserSubscribe with Live.comSubscribe with Excite MIXSubscribe with WebwagSubscribe with Podcast ReadySubscribe with WikioSubscribe with Daily RotationSubscribe with FlurrySubscribe with NewsAlloySubscribe with Attensa for OutlookSubscribe to receive starting goalies, hockey news, fantasy analysis, betting tips and more from DailyFaceoff.com!Maple Leafs trade Phil Kessel to Penguinshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/dailyfaceoff/~3/bNkSn2lOqlo/maple-leafs-trade-phil-kessel-to-penguins
http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/40142/maple-leafs-trade-phil-kessel-to-penguins#commentsWed, 01 Jul 2015 18:55:47 +0000http://www.dailyfaceoff.com/?p=40142

At first glance, this is a bit of an underwhelming return for Kessel, but I’m not sure the Leafs were every going to get that much more anyways. I’m not sure why Toronto would have to give up a second round pick, but here we are.

Kasperi Kapenen, 18, is a top prospect – let’s make no mistake about that. The 6’0, 181lb right winger scored 21 points in 41 games KalPa in Finland’s top league, as well as two points in four games for Wilkes-Barre Scranton in the AHL to close out the season. Kapanen was the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 Draft.

Scott Harrington, 22, is a nice piece, but lacks high-end potential. Last year, Harrington scored 12 points in 48 games for Wilkes-Barre Scranton, and went pointless in 10 games with the NHL Penguins. He’ll be very familiar to Leafs executive Mark Hunter, who had Harrington in London.

Nick Spaling arrived in Pittsburgh as part of the James Neal trade with the Nashville Predators. Spaling scored 27 points in 82 games for the Penguins this past season, and is under contract for one more season at $2.2M.

Adding another first round pick to the cupboard is also nice, even if it will likely be somewhere in the 20-to-30 range. Toronto now has two first round picks, one second round pick, and two third round picks in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft/

In retaining salary, $1.2M will count against the Leafs’ cap number for the next seven years. This might be the most disappointing part of the deal, but it could be worse. Deep down, I find it annoying more than anything… I doubt it will actually become a hinderance for Toronto in the future!

The 2015 NHL Draft kicks off at 7 p.m EST and we will have live coverage here at DailyFaceoff. News updates with scouting reports and of course, the newest NHL player’s new threads! Stay locked into DailyFaceoff and engage with fellow fans on our forums!

Three days after the Canadiens dumped the Senators in Game 6, the Lightning moved past the Red Wings with a Game 7 victory on Wednesday.

Each team entered the playoffs as the higher seed, but were pushed to the limit by their first round opponents. This will be the third time that the Canadiens and Lightning have met in the playoffs since 2004. Tampa Bay swept Montreal in 2004, but the only player who played in that series that will play in this series is 36-year-old Andrei Markov. The most recent meeting was last year, when Montreal sweptthe Ben Bishop-less Lightning.

Speaking of sweeps, the Lightning won all five meetings between these two teams this season. In those contests Tampa Bay outscored Montreal 21-8. Does the regular season matter now? Nope. But, it is worth noting that the Lightning took care of the Habs pretty handily this year.

Goalies

When looking at goaltending, the clear advantage goes to Montreal. Carey Price is the best goalie in the world. He led the NHL in Wins, GAA and SV% this season and had a great first round vs. Ottawa. He hasn’t had the greatest track record in the postseason, but Bishop did not exactly look sharp against the Red Wings. Bishop appeared to be fighting the puck at times and if the Lightning are going to win, he will have to play at Price’s level. Craig Anderson was outstanding in round 1 and it still wasn’t enough to get by the Habs.

Can Bishop play at that level? Definitely. He was 5-0-0 with a 1.59 GAA, .941 SV% and one shutout in five starts against Montreal, so he has certainly had their number this year. Price obviously didn’t get a win against Tampa, going 0-4-1 with a 3.47 GAA and .906 SV%.

With that said, the playoffs are so different from the regular season, but it is obvious that the Lightning are more explosive than the Canadiens, so this goaltending duel is intriguing.

Forwards

If you would have told people that Steven Stamkos was not going to score a goal in seven games, how many people would think the Lightning would still win that series? Probably not many. So how did the Lightning get to this point with Stamkos struggling? Tyler Johnson. The 24-year-old was a beast in the first round, scoring six goals with one assist. His line mates Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov combined for one goal and six assists in the seven-game series.

The Lightning realized that Stammer was struggling and that led to him playing just 17:40 TOI , which was sixth highest among Tampa forwards. He will play with Alex Killorn and Ryan Callahan, who was also mostly ineffective in the first round. This has to be scary for Montreal, because Stamkos has to find his rhythm eventually.

Montreal’s offence has been lacking all season. They ranked 20th in the regular season in scoring and only averaged 2.00 goals per game against the Senators. Max Pacioretty is their best goal scorer, but he came into the playoffs injured. He scored twice in five games in the first round, but a lot of their scoring came from unexpected sources. Brian Flynn, Torrey Mitchell and Dale Weise combined for four goals and four assists, which no one saw coming heading into the first round.

Both teams possess offensive ability on the back-end. The Canadiens have Markov and P.K Subban. Markov has been a great offensive defeneman for years; he almost has 500 career regular season points. He only had one assist in the first round, but expect him to improve vs. Tampa Bay.Subban, already has one Norris Trophy (2013) to his name and he is a finalist again this year. He led the Canadiens with four points in the Conference Quarterfinals and will obviously play a huge role for Montreal in this series.

The Habs picked up Jeff Petry at the deadline and he really appeared to be settling in at the end of the year. He had a strong series vs. Ottawa, especially when Subban was ejected. However, despite his strong play defensively, he failed to record a point in six games—look for that to change if he keeps playing well.

For Tampa Bay, all their defensemen are capable of scoring. Their 22-year-old blue liner Nikita Nesterov had a fantastic series vs. Detroit. He was very dangerous all series and ended up tying Victor Hedman for the team lead with three points (1G / 2A) on the blue line. In addition to those two, Jason Garrison returned in Game 4 and had a goal and an assist and he possesses a massive shot from the point. And you can’t forget about Anton Stralman, who led all Tampa defensemen with 39 points (9G / 30A) this season.

Tampa Bay’s forwards clearly have the edge in this series, so if their D can out perform Montreal’s they just might be punching their ticket into the Eastern Conference Finals.

It seems like the Rangers and Capitals play in the playoffs every year doesn’t it?

To be exact, this will be the fifth postseason meeting between the two teams since 2009. Of the previous four series, three of them have went seven games. The Capitals won in seven in 2009 and in five in 2011. However, the Rangers have won the last two series, both in Game 7, first in 2012 then again in 2013.

Goalies

As it is in every playoff series, the goaltending will be the key to the series. Both net minders were outstanding in the first round. Henrik Lundqvist posted the second best GAA (1.52) and the third best SV% (.939). For Braden Holtby, he was second in SV% (.943) and third in GAA (1.63). So at first glance it looks like goals will be at a premium in this series.

The regular season series was won by the Rangers 3-1. Lundqvist was 2-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .929 SV% in his two starts against Washington. Holtby was 1-3-0 with a 3.06 GAA and .897 SV% in the four games vs. New York.

Whenever Lundqvist is in a playoff series, his team usually has the edge in goaltending, but Holtby is looking to keep his career-year going.

Forwards

The Rangers did not need to do a ton of scoring in the first round, because Lundqvist was so good. Derick Brassard led the way with three goals and one assist, while Ryan McDonagh and Rick Nash had four points of their own (1G / 3A each). Nash has typically had a tough time in the postseason, but in the first round he was able to carry his regular season success into the playoffs. He will need to continue that rather than fall flat on his face like he has in the past, if the Rangers want to produce offensively.

New York will be without Mats Zuccarello for the foreseeable future, which will move Martin St. Louis to the top line. St. Louis only had one assist vs. the Penguins, but he has 84 career playoff points in 93 games, so don’t expect him to be as quiet in this series.

For the Capitals, their offence begins with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The two combined for 11 points (5G / 6A) vs. the Islanders and they were followed by eight players who had at least three points. Evgeny Kuznetsov had an excellent series, scoring three goals, including the game-winner in Game 7.

Ovi had five goals in four games against the Rangers in the regular season. Like I said already, goals will likely be at a premium in this series and there is no player more important in this series than Ovechkin.

Defensemen

The aforementioned McDonagh is tied for the team lead in points through one round and he led the Rangers with 17 points (4G / 13A) in the 2014 playoffs. He has proven to be a great playoff performer for New York. This year, Dan Girardi, Dan Boyle and Keith Yandle all had at least two points and if their scoring continues to be this consistent, they will be tough to stop.

John Carlson is the Capitals best defenseman and he led them with four points (1G / 3A) in round 1. Their blue line is just as strong with names like Matt Niskanen and Mike Green.

When you look at this matchup on paper, it really is difficult to say one team is clearly better than the other.

Coming into the playoffs, the Flames’ starting 12 forwards only had 158 career playoff games between them, 90.5 percent of those games were played by just three players (Jiri Hudler, Mason Raymond and Brandon Bollig). In contrast, the Ducks have 349 games among their current 12 forwards. However, both of these teams are the youngest teams in the postseason with an average age of 26.7

Playoff experience could play a factor in this series, but that didn’t seem to slow Calgary down vs. Vancouver in round 1.

All season, the Flames have been led by their top line of Hudler, Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. The Canucks were able to slow them down for most of the series, holding them to a combined three goals and four assists (7 points) in the first five games of the series. However, when it mattered most, they exploded for a combined four goals and six assists (10 points) in the Flames’ 7-4 win. That line will likely go head-to-head with Ryan Kesler, who was an absolute beast in the Quarterfinals. They will also see a lot of Nate Thompson, should be able to return from an upper-body that held him out of the Conference Quarterfinals.

When talking about the Flames, how can you ignore what Michael Ferland did against Vancouver? The 23-year-old had two goals and two assists to go along with a team-leading 40 hits. He was a physical presence that got under the Canucks skin and he will look to do the same with the Ducks.

Anaheim is much heavier team than the Flames. They have an average weight of 206.8 versus 193.3 for Calgary (via James Mirtle). Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are their top offensive options, but they have a ton of guys who can chip in. They showed they can go four lines deep after each line scored a goal in the four-game sweep of the Jets.

Jakob Silfverberg, 23, had just four goals and two assists in his first 25 playoff games, but had a fantastic series vs. Winnipeg while playing on a line with Kesler. He tallied six points (2G / 4A) in the four games and will need to be good again with that line likely going head-to-head with the Monahan line.

The Ducks third line didn’t have to be great in the first round, but they will likely be the ones going up against the Ferland line. Rickard Rakell gets it done at both ends of the rink, but only had one goal in the first round. Andrew Cogliano on the other hand, had one goal in three assists and has become a nice playoff piece for Anaheim—dating back to last season he has 11 points (2G / 9A) in 17 postseason games.

Defensemen

It is hard to ignore the success that the Flames have had despite missing Mark Giordano since late February. Even without Gio, the Flames blue line is still producing. The pair of Kris Russell and Dennis Wideman combined for eight points (2G / 6A), 18 shots and five power-play points in the first round. T.J Brodie had four points (1G / 3A) of his own—he is paired with Deryk Engelland who leads this blue line in hits and blocked shots in the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see which blue line can give their team an extra boost. Each team is capable of producing a ton of offence at even-strength and with the man-advantage.

Goalies

Probably the most intriguing aspect of this series is that Jonas Hiller will return to Anaheim to take on the team that simply gave up on him last year. After spending seven seasons in Anaheim, Hiller signed with the Flames this offseason. Hiller went 1-2-0 with a 3.43 GAA and .889 SV% in three starts and one relief appearance against the Ducks this season. Despite the regular season struggles against his former team, Hiller comes in as a confident goaltender after posting a 2.20 GAA and .931 SV% in the first round.

Replacing Hiller, is a duo of 25-year-old Frederik Andersen and 21-year-old John Gibson. With Gibson sidelined by an upper-body injury it has been all Andersen in the postseason. After struggling a bit last season, posting a 3.10 GAA and .899 SV% in seven starts, Andersen has been perfect in 2015, going 4-0 with a 2.20 GAA and .924 SV% vs. the Jets. In three starts against the Flames this season, Andersen went 2-0-1 with a 2.60 GAA and .907 SV%.

Each of these teams went into the first round as the lower seed and both of them emerged victorious in six games.

This will be the third consecutive season that these two teams have met in the playoffs. In 2013 the Chicago Blackhawks knocked off the Minnesota Wild in the first round in five games. Last year they did it again, getting by the Wild in six games in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Goalies

Chicago beat Nashville despite having to go to their backup goaltender, Scott Darling. Their regular number-1, Corey Crawford, struggled in the first two games, but Darling filled in admirably and outplayed Pekka Rinne for the majority of the series. Heading into Game 1 vs. the Wild, the Blackhawks will go back to Crawford after Darling was pulled in their Game 6 win over the Predators.

As for the Wild, they had no goaltending issues, which has been the case since they acquired Devan Dubnyk back in mid-January. During the regular season he was 27-9-2 with a 1.78 GAA and .936 SV%, but he entered the playoffs with zero postseason experience. Did it matter? Nope. He picked up right where he left off, posting a 2.32 GAA and .913 SV% in six games vs. the Blues.

Forwards

These were two of the highest scoring teams in the first round and that shouldn’t come as a surprise when you look at the forwards on the two rosters.

For the Blackhawks, there is not many playoff performers like their captain Jonathan Toews. He led the team with eight points (3G / 5A) in the first round, which gives him 89 career playoff points in 100 games. His line mates Marian Hossa and Brandon Saad combined for two goals and five assists in the first round, but it was the return of Patrick Kane that makes the Blackhawks a top pick to win their third Stanley Cup in six seasons. Despite missing the final 21 games of the regular season with a broken clavicle, Kane returned for Game 1 and posted seven points (2G / 5A) vs. the Predators.

Chicago’s offence is a little more dangerous and has more playoff experience, but the Wild’s offence was strong in Round 1. They are led by the ultra competitive Zach Parise, who was the only player over a point-per-game vs. St. Louis. Last season, 23-year-old Mikael Granlundand 22-year-old Nino Niederreiter made a splash in the playoffs and they did it again in the first round. Granlund is one of the NHL’s best, young playmakers and he proved that with one goal and four assists. Niederreiter proved clutch with two game winners last year and had another vs. the Blues. Veterans Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek are key to the Wild’s successas well. Pominville is as consistent of a winger as you will find, but you definitely can’t say the same about Vanek. He choked with the Canadiens last year and has failed to score a goal so far this year.

Defensemen

On the blue line there is no shortage of big names either. Duncan Keith had the same amount of points as Kane (2G / 5A) and thanks to a double OT game and a triple OT finish, Keith logged 32:03 TOI per game in the first round. He is joined by Brent Seabrook, who was sensational in the postseason last year (15 points in 16 games)and had four points in the first round, including the game winner in the triple overtime thriller.

For Minny, they are anchored by Ryan Suter, who can play an inhuman amount of minutes on any given night. He averaged 26:05 in round one, but only recorded one assist in six games. He leads a group that consists of two 25 year olds (Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon), a 21-year-old (Jonas Brodin) and a 20-year-old (Matt Dumba). They’re young, but they’re good at both ends of the rink. Spurgeon, Scandella and Dumba combined for four goals and three assists vs. the Blues. However, the lack of experience could come back to bite them against a Hawks team who have had their number and who have a ton of experience in this situation.

Sorry about missing the Cheat Sheet yesterday, but we are back four hours before the Islanders and Capitals play Game 6 on Long Island.

Today’s featured contest has a $3 entry fee with a $12,000 prize pool. 1st place wins $1,000 and the next 934 finishers will share the remaining $11,000! Join HERE and Good Luck!

If you are new to DraftKings, click HERE to register and they will give you a 100% bonus up to $600 on your first deposit.

DraftKings lineups are made up of eight skaters and one goalie. Each player is allotted a salary based off of performance and you have $50,000 to build the best team possible that consists of 2C, 3W, 2D, 1UTIL and 1G.

Players will accumulate points as follows:

Goal = +3 pts

Assist = +2 pts

Shot on goal = +0.5 pts

Blocked Shot = +0.5 pts

Short Handed Point = +1 pts

Shootout Goal = +0.2 pts

Hat Trick Bonus = +1.5 pts

Goalies will accumulate points as follows:

Win = +3 pts

Save = +0.2 pts

Goal Against = -1 pts

Shutout Bonus = +2 pts

(Goalies WILL also receive skater points, if they score a goal or record an assist)

To help you build the ideal one-day lineup here are my top centres, wingers, defensemen, goalies and value picks for the April 25th games.

CENTRES

TYLER JOHNSON – vs. DET ($8,400)

Johnson was the Lightning’s hero in Game 4. With under six minutes left in the game, he scored a goal and had an assist to force overtime, where he promptly potted the game-winner. He has been their most dangerous player in the series and heading back on home-ice with momentum, Johnson makes for a nice option today.

JONATHAN TOEWS – vs. NSH ($6,600)

I expected a big game from Nashville in Game 5, but now the series shifts back to Chicago where the Blackhawks will hope to close out the series. Toews has been held off of the scoresheet for two straight games, don’t expect that to stretch to three.

SEAN MONAHAN – vs. VAN ($6,000)

Monahan has not registered a point in two straight games, but the Flames need to finish this series tonight on home-ice. If they are going to do so, they will need a big performance from their top-line of Monahan-Gaudreau-Hudler.

Hossa has five assists and 22 shots in the first five games of this series. With 22 shots and no goals, you would have to think a player with a career 12.6 shooting percentage will be able to find the back of the net soon.

JOHNNY GAUDREAU – vs. VAN ($5,800)

After scoring a goal and two assists in the previous three games, Johnny Hockey was held scoreless in Game 5. Back on home ice Gaudreau and the aforementioned Monahan need a massive game from their top line.

NIKITA KUCHEROV – vs. DET ($4,500)

Kucherov has just one assist in four games, but with his line producing in a big way in Game 4, he should be able to get on the scoresheet in Game 5. He has looked dangerous, but just doesn’t have anything to show for it.

As a Red Wings fan, you can tell I’m not very confident in our group heading into Game 5 after the debacle of a finish on Thursday. Hedman has two assists and 10 shots in four games, but he has played very well and is the Lightning’s most dangerous defenseman.

NICK LEDDY – vs. WSH ($3,900)

I called that Capitals blowout didn’t I? Well now the Islanders need to stay alive on Long Island. Leddy leads their blue line in points with three assists in the first five games. He is firing a couple of shots per game, but expect even more offence today with their backs up against the wall.

Bishop has a solid 2.00 GAA and .902 SV% in the first four games of the series. They should be down 3-1 but with furious comeback they have a chance to take the series lead on home ice tonight. Bishop was 27-6-1 at home this season, so don’t expect them to spoil it.

SCOTT DARLING – vs. NSH ($8,200)

You had to know Darling wasn’t going to outplay Pekka Rinne all series. He allowed four goals on 28 shots in the Game 4 loss, but back at home he should turn in a better performance tonight. He is the cheapest starting option and has one of the better chances to win tonight.

Eeeek, last night was rough. Bought in on Minnesota and got burned. We will look to get back on track tonight with eight teams in action.

Tonight’s featured contest has a $14,000 prize pool and only a $3 buy-in. The top 1,085 finishers will be paid out and first place will take home $1,000! Join HERE and Good Luck!

If you are new to DraftKings, click HERE to register and they will give you a 100% bonus up to $600 on your first deposit.

DraftKings lineups are made up of eight skaters and one goalie. Each player is allotted a salary based off of performance and you have $50,000 to build the best team possible that consists of 2C, 3W, 2D, 1UTIL and 1G.

Players will accumulate points as follows:

Goal = +3 pts

Assist = +2 pts

Shot on goal = +0.5 pts

Blocked Shot = +0.5 pts

Short Handed Point = +1 pts

Shootout Goal = +0.2 pts

Hat Trick Bonus = +1.5 pts

Goalies will accumulate points as follows:

Win = +3 pts

Save = +0.2 pts

Goal Against = -1 pts

Shutout Bonus = +2 pts

(Goalies WILL also receive skater points, if they score a goal or record an assist)

To help you build the ideal one-day lineup here are my top centres, wingers, defensemen, goalies and value picks for the April 23rd games.

CENTRES

NICKLAS BACKSTROM – vs. NYI ($8,500)

I think Game 4 was the turning point in this series. Washington heads home with momentum and looking to take their first lead of the series. Backstrom has arguably been the best player in the series and his continually rising salary showcases that. He is tied for 3rd in the playoffs with six points (3G / 3A).

PAVEL DATSYUK – vs. TBL ($7,600)

Datsyuk has been dominant in the first three games of the series. Even when the Red Wings were outplayed in Game 1, Datsyuk still had a strong game. He has two goals and one assist in three games and the way Joe Louis was rocking in Game 3, the Red Wings can expect a raucous crowd again tonight. Look for them to build off of that and it will be led by Pavel.

COLIN WILSON – vs. CHI ($5,500)

I have a hard time believing that Scott Darling will outplay Pekka Rinne all series long. Heading back to Nashville, the Predators should be able to keep their season alive. Wilson missed the morning skate, but is expected to play tonight. He has two goals and nine shots so far in the series.

Like I said about Backstrom, the Capitals should come into Game 5, on home ice with a ton of confidence. Ovechkin had a goal and an assist in Game 4, but we are still waiting for him to take over a game. Tonight might be the night.

DANIEL SEDIN – vs. CGY ($7,500)

Ultimately I like the Flames to win the series, but I don’t see them doing so in five games. The Canucks, especially the Sedin’s, need to show some fire on home ice and get back into the series. Daniel came into the playoffs one a four-game goal scoring streak, but has just one goal and one assist in the first four games of the series.

TOMAS TATAR – vs. TBL ($4,800)

Moving back to a line with Datsyuk in Game 3, Tatar had one assist in 15:02 TOI. He registered just one shot, but had a number of shots blocked. If he can find a way to get those shots through tonight, he should rack up some fantasy points and hopefully a point or two on the scoresheet.

Josi leads all defensemen in shots and blocked shots so far in the playoffs. He has needed to become a huge player with Shea Weber out and he will need to be great tonight for the Predators to survive. He has one goal on 20 shots…Eventually they’ll get past Scott Darling.

MIKE GREEN – vs. NYI ($4,800)

Green is tied for 6th among defensemen with 11 shots in the playoffs, but still has not scored a goal. Like Josi, you to expect him to find the twine sooner or later. He comes in with two assists in four games.

It is crazy to think that Darling is outplaying Rinne, but that is exactly what has happened so far. Back on home ice, expect Rinne to turn in a huge performance. He has posted a 2.54 GAA and .911 SV% in the first four games.

RYAN MILLER – vs. CGY ($8,200)

After replacing Eddie Lack in Game 4, Miller stopped all 15 shots that he faced, leading to him getting the nod in an elimination game on Thursday. He has gone 27-26 witha 2.47 GAA and .916 SV% in his playoff career.

With the Fantasy Hockey playoffs approaching, Fantasy Hockey Champions are getting ready to be crowned all over the world. Aside from whatever monetary gains, bragging rights or trophies you get from winning your league, our NEW ‘FANTASY HOCKEY CHAMPION’ T-SHIRTS are the ultimate way to rub it into you competitions face that YOU are the CHAMP!

These shirts are $24.00 and that includes shipping to anywhere in Canada. It will take 1-2 weeks to ship to Canada and 2-3 weeks to ship to the United States.

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If you are not the league Champion, but the League Manager, it would be a fun idea to buy one and hand it out with whatever trophy or prize your winner gets.

If you wish to order one of these beauties outside of Canada or the US, please email us at nation-gear@oilersnation.com

What a night of playoff hockey on Tuesday eh? Triple-overtime? Yes please! There are four more games tonight and the first night where a team could be eliminated. The Senators and Jets both face elimination on home ice. In a Twitter survey of our followers, 93.3% of responses think the Senators are most likely of the two teams to be swept.

Tonight’s featured contest has a $3 entry fee with a $16,000 prize pool. The top 1,225 finishers will be paid out, with first place taking home $1,500! Join HERE and Good Luck!

If you are a first time user on DraftKings, they will give you a 100% bonus up to $600 on your first deposit.

DraftKings lineups are made up of eight skaters and one goalie. Each player is allotted a salary based off of performance and you have $50,000 to build the best team possible that consists of 2C, 3W, 2D, 1UTIL and 1G.

Players will accumulate points as follows:

Goal = +3 pts

Assist = +2 pts

Shot on goal = +0.5 pts

Blocked Shot = +0.5 pts

Short Handed Point = +1 pts

Shootout Goal = +0.2 pts

Hat Trick Bonus = +1.5 pts

Goalies will accumulate points as follows:

Win = +3 pts

Save = +0.2 pts

Goal Against = -1 pts

Shutout Bonus = +2 pts

(Goalies WILL also receive skater points, if they score a goal or record an assist)

To help you build the ideal one-day lineup here are my top centres, wingers, defensemen, goalies and value picks for the April 21st games.

CENTRES

RYAN GETZLAF – @ WPG ($8,700)

After posting one goal and three assists in the first two games, Getzlaf was surprisingly held off of the scoresheet in Game 3 despite the Ducks scoring five goals. The Ducks will be looking to put the Jets away tonight and Getzlaf should be able to get back on the board.

EVGENI MALKIN – vs. NYR ($6,800)

Malkin has not registered a point in the first three games of the series and the Penguins are in desperate need of a breakout performance from Geno. Malkin comes at a reasonable price for a player of his caliber.

MIKAEL GRANLUND – vs. STL ($4,200)

The Wild’s top line of Parise-Granlud-Pominville have played extremely well on home-ice this season. In the first game in Minnesota, Granlund had two assists and that linecombined for six points. With Game 4 in Minnesota, I like them again.

Perry scored again in Game 3, giving him three goals and two assists in the first three games of the series. The Ducks would love to sweep the Jets tonight and Perry is one of the hottest players going right now.

ZACH PARISE – vs. STL ($8,200)

Parise potted his first goal of the playoffs and added his third helper in the Game 3 win. As previously mentioned, this top-line is great at Xcel Energy Center—Parise has 20 goals and 17 assists (37 points) in 39 games at home this season.

JASON POMINVILLE – vs. STL ($6,700)

The third member of that line is Pominville. He also had one goal and one assist in Game 3 and now has four points (2G / 2A) in the first three contests. He now has 12 more points at home than on the road this season.

Karlsson has an assist in each of the Senators first three playoff games. In Game 3 he delivered an inspired performance, registering four shots and six hits. In an elimination game, expect Karlsson to be at his best once again.

SAMI VATANEN – @ WPG ($5,000)

Vatanen had three points (1G / 2A) in the series opener, but hasn’t registered a point in the last two games, despite having six shots on goal. He is the Ducks top blue line option, and in a big game for Anaheim, he should be in top form.

Price has yet to lose in the playoffs and has posted a strong 1.88 GAA and .939 SV% so far. He will probably be great again tonight as the Habs look to complete the sweep of the Senators.

DEVAN DUBNYK – vs. STL ($8,500)

Dubnyk is coming off of his first career playoff shutout and has posted the second best GAA (1.68) at this point in the postseason. The Wild are great on home-ice, so they have a nice chance to take a 3-1 series lead.